Junk is generously sponsored by Joan and David Maxwell.Corporate support for Junk is provided by

As the brilliant and calculating Robert Merkin prepares a hostile takeover of a family-owned manufacturing company, he is not concerned about crossing the line to get what he wants in the name of “saving America.” Inspired by the volatile and cut-throat financial world and the junk bond giants of the 1980s, “this epic piece of work” (Chicago Tribune) is an enticing look at the money makers, their hubris and those who tried to hold them accountable. Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar’s (Disgraced) latest work asks if redemption is truly possible or if there is always a new scheme waiting in the wings.

Cast

ELLIOTT BALES

Union Rep / Corrigan Wiley

NICHOLAS BAROUDI

Giuseppe Addesso

LISE BRUNEAU

Maximilien Cizik

JABEN EARLY

Kevin Walsh / Curt

AMANDA FORSTROM

Charlene Stewart / Lawyer

SHANARA GABRIELLE

Amy Merkin

EDWARD GERO

Thomas Everson, Jr.

MICHAEL GLENN

Mark O’Hare

DYLAN JACKSON

Devon Atkins

KASHAYNA JOHNSON

Jacqueline Blount

THOMAS KEEGAN

Robert Merkin

DAVID ANDREW MACDONALD

Leo Tresler

JONATHAN DAVID MARTIN

Israel Peterman

MICHAEL RUSSOTTO

Murray Lefkowitz

NANCY SUN

Judy Chen

PERRY YOUNG

Raúl Rivera

ELAN ZAFIR

Boris Pronsky

ELLIOTT BALES

Union Rep / Corrigan Wiley

ELLIOTT BALES (Union Rep / Corrigan Wiley) returns to Arena Stage, having appeared previously in Kleptocracy and The Great Society. Elliott works as a theater and film actor based out of Arlington, VA. Theater credits include Kings (Studio Theater), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Folger Theatre), Occupied Territories and The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Theater Alliance), Harvey (1st Stage), Not Enuf Lifetimes (The Welders), Romeo and Juliet (Unexpected Stage) and White Christmas (Little Theater on the Square). Elliott’s film credits include Wireless, The Sultan and the Saint and The Coming Storm, and TV credits include Legends and Lies: Patriots, The Sultan and the Saint and House of Horrors: Kidnapped. He is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and the National War College. Elliott retired from the U.S. Army after 26 years of service.

NICHOLAS BAROUDI

Giuseppe Addesso

NICHOLAS BAROUDI (Giuseppe Addesso) is making his Arena Stage debut. His most recent stage work was Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. Notable regional roles include Chris Keller in All My Sons; Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men; Ken Harrison in Whose Life Is It, Anyway?; George Gibbs in Our Town; and John Honeyman in A Walk In The Woods. Television credits include marked appearances in CBS’s Person of Interest, ABC’s Time After Time and Showtime’s Billions. In 2018 he wrote, produced and appeared in the film Sins of the Son. Nicholas can next be seen in the film Love Thy Keepers, followed by Showtime’s limited series The Loudest Voice in the Room and the FX limited series Fosse/Verdon.

LISE BRUNEAU

Maximilien Cizik

LISE BRUNEAU (Maximilien Cizik) is pleased to return to Arena Stage after appearing in The Heiress, Watch on the Rhine, Mother Courage and Karen Zacarias’ Legacy of Light. Recent credits include Broadway’s The Cherry Orchard (Roundabout) and Sweat for A.C.T. San Francisco. D.C. appearances include Hamlet and Othello (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Broken Glass and Brighton Beach Memoirs (Theater J, Helen Hayes nomination) and This (Round House). For Denver Center, she was Hesione in HeartbreakHouse (Henry Award). As a director, she’s helmed productions for MetroStage, Clarence Brown Theatre, the Riot Grrrls and Taffety Punk. Regionally, she has appeared at Cleveland Playhouse, The Globe, Seattle Repertory, The Wilma, Berkeley Repertory and many Shakespeare festivals. Lise trained at RADA and is proud to be a Taffety Punk.

JABEN EARLY

Kevin Walsh / Curt

JABEN EARLY (Kevin Walsh / Curt) is a native Washingtonian, previously seen in The Great Society, All the Way and Ruined at Arena Stage. D.C. credits include Father Comes Home from the Wars (Round House Theatre), Unexplored Interior (Mosaic Theater Company), The Convert (Woolly Mammoth), Julius Caesar (Folger Theatre), F***ing A (Studio Theatre), Native Sun (American Century Theater), Titus Andronicus (Molotov Theatre), Me and The Devil Blues (Flying V), and The Cloak Room (Capital Fringe Festival). Regional credits include Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (Guthrie Theatre), We Are Proud to Present… (Philly Interactive Theatre), Ruined (Marin Theatre Company) and The Death of Bessie Smith (Liberty Free Theatre). JaBen trained at Morehouse College, Sarah Lawrence University and the BADA program at Magdalen College, University of Oxford. He would like to thank his parents and extended family for their endless support.

SHANARA GABRIELLE (Amy Merkin) is very happy to be joining Arena Stage for the first time. Her theater highlights include Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare Theatre Company; She Loves Me at The Guthrie Theater; A Christmas Carol at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville; Clybourne Park, Comedy of Errors and Macbeth at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; and Blithe Spirit at Great Lakes Theater. Film and television credits include Chicago Fire, The Enemy Within, House of Cards, Conan, Conviction, Guiding Light, indie films and many commercials. Shanara received her BFA from Webster Conservatory, and is a proud recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation Grace LeVine Award and a union member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. Shanara loves to connect, so find her at www.shanaragabrielle.com.Twitter: @shanarag Instagram: @shanaragabrielle

EDWARD GERO

Thomas Everson, Jr.

EDWARD GERO (Thomas Everson, Jr.)’s Arena Stage credits include Antonin Scalia in The Originalist, Benjamin Hubbard in The Little Foxes and Mark Rothko in Red. He is a four-time Helen Hayes Award winner and 16-time nominee. New York credits include The Originalist (59E59). Regional credits include The Originalist (Asolo Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse and Court Theatre, Joseph Jefferson Award nomination), Red and Gloucester in King Lear (Goodman), Nixon’s Nixon and Night Alive (Round House), Sweeney Todd (Signature Theatre), Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (Ford’s Theatre) and American Buffalo, Shining City and Skylight (Studio Theatre). In 32 seasons with Shakespeare Theatre Company, his over 70 roles include Helen Hayes turns in Henry IV, Richard II and Macbeth. Film/TV credits include House of Cards, TURN: Washington's Spies,Die Hard 2, Striking Distance and narrations for Discovery Channel and PBS. He is a Ten Chimneys 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow and associate professor of theater at George Mason University.

MICHAEL GLENN

Mark O’Hare

MICHAEL GLENN (Mark O’Hare) is delighted to return to Arena Stage, having previously appeared in Sovereignty, Baskerville and Good People. Washington-based for two decades, Michael has performed on nearly every area stage. Some favorite past credits include Gem of the Ocean and Small Mouth Sounds at Round House Theatre, Nell Gwynn and Sense & Sensibility (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble) at the Folger Theatre, Hothouse and Cat’s Cradle with Longacre Lea, School for Lies with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Clybourne Park at Woolly Mammoth, Brighton Beach Memoirs at Theater J, Robin Hood at Imagination Stage, Lieutenant of Inishmore at Signature Theatre and Marjorie Prime at Olney Theatre Center. Michael’s voice also appears on hundreds of western, science fiction, fantasy and pulp audio books with Graphic Audio.

DYLAN JACKSON

Devon Atkins

DYLAN JACKSON (Devon Atkins) is amped to be making his Arena Stage debut. D.C. credits include Dead Man Walking (WNO/The Kennedy Center) and Suicide, Incorporated (No Rules Theatre Company). Regionally, he has appeared in Our Town (Arden Theatre Company) and This Is Our Youth (Simpatico Theatre Project). Dylan earned his BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Many thanks to my family, Victor and Deloitte for the flexibility. Instagram: @dilljax

KASHAYNA JOHNSON

Jacqueline Blount

KASHAYNA JOHNSON (Jacqueline Blount), Helen Hayes nominee, is thrilled to be making her official Arena Stage debut in this production of Junk. She was recently seen in the world premiere of Josh Wilder’s She A Gem at the John F. Kennedy Center. Other credits include For Colored Girls (Theater Alliance), Milk Like Sugar (Mosaic Theater), Romeo and Juliet (Prince George’s Shakespeare Theater Festival), Stick Fly (Port City Playhouse), How We Got On (Forum Theatre) and Dark House (Capital Fringe Festival). Short film credits include Liberty’s Hollow and 5 Afternoons. Instagram: @Shayla_vie

THOMAS KEEGAN

Robert Merkin

THOMAS KEEGAN (Robert Merkin) is delighted to return to Arena, where he last appeared in Watch on the Rhine. Thomas most recently performed in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free for All production of Romeo & Juliet and Olney Theatre Center’s production of Ayad Akhtar’s The Invisible Hand. His additional area credits include Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s world premieres of Zombie: The American and Women Laughing Along with Salad; The Glass Menagerie, Death of Salesman and Jefferson’s Garden at Ford’s Theatre; The Body of an American at Theatre J; Fool for Love and Angels in America at Round House Theatre; and Othello and The Taming of the Shrew at The Folger Shakespeare Theatre. Thomas’s film and TV credits include VEEP (HBO), Madam Secretary and Elementary (CBS); TURN: Washington’s Spies (AMC), and Harriet (Focus Features), due out this year. Twitter & Instagram: @TheThomasKeegan

DAVID ANDREW MACDONALD

Leo Tresler

DAVID ANDREW MACDONALD(Leo Tresler) last appeared at Arena Stage in 1985 in John Guare's Women and Water. Since then, he appeared on Broadway in Two Shakespearean Actors, Coram Boy, Mamma Mia!, Rocky and Skylight, and Off-Broadway in A Night and Her Stars and The Green Heart. Additional credits include Tom Stoppard's The Hard Problem at Studio Theatre in 2017, and the National Tour of Stephen Daldry's An Inspector Calls, for which he received a Jeff Award nomination in Chicago. David has worked on classical and contemporary plays across the U.S. and Canada. His film credits include Movement and Location and Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon, for which he was awarded Best Actor at the Toronto International SH&F Film Festival. Television credits include much NY-based primetime television, and a number of the now-dead soap operas, including 10 years as Edmund Winslow on Guiding Light. David is a graduate of the Juilliard School.

JONATHAN DAVID MARTIN

Israel Peterman

JONATHAN DAVID MARTIN (Israel Peterman) Arena Stage credits include The Heiress. Other credits include War Horse at Lincoln Center Theater (original Broadway cast); Off-Broadway productions at the National Black Theatre, 59E59 Theaters and Bushwick Starr; regionally at Theater Alliance, Two River Theater, Portland Center Stage, Shakespeare Santa Monica, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, NMA Physical Theatre Ensemble and Washington Ensemble Theater, where he was a founding co-artistic director. He is also the co-artistic director of NYC-based Smoke & Mirrors Collaborative whose original works include Olityelwe(59E59 Theaters, UK and South Africa tours), Point of Departure, Head in the Sand, The Alien Nation, #HashtagProject and Tangible Hope Project, a documentary series highlighting community change-makers across America. TV credits include Unforgettableand Believe. Annenberg Fellow for the Arts. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting.

MICHAEL RUSSOTTO

Murray Lefkowitz

MICHAEL RUSSOTTO (Murray Lefkowitz) is delighted to return to Arena Stage, where he last appeared in The Shoplifters and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Other Arena credits include Legacy of Light and On the Jump. Most recently Michael played holdout Juror # 3 in the Ford’s Theatre production of Twelve Angry Men and Alex in Heisenberg at Signature Theatre. He is a company member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, where he has been in many, many productions including A Bright New Boise (Helen Hayes nom.), She Stoops to Comedy (Helen Hayes nom.) and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Other favorite roles include Charley in The Whale at Rep Stage (Helen Hayes nom.), Lieutenant Caro Between Riversideand Crazy at Cleveland Play House. Michael also narrates books for the Library of Congress.

NANCY SUN

Judy Chen

NANCY SUN (Judy Chen) is grateful to be making her Arena Stage debut. She first appeared on the D.C. stage in The Hard Problem at Studio Theatre. Off-Broadway, Nancy has performed in Red Flamboyant (Firebone Theatre), Completeness (Normal Ave) and An Infinite Ache (Access Theater). She has performed regionally in Marginal Loss (Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville). Nancy’s film credits include Going in Style, What Children Do and Bruce!!! Her TV credits include Homeland, Younger, Shades of Blue and The Slap. Nancy is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and the Maggie Flanigan Studio. She is currently developing her first feature-length screenplay. Instagram: @thenancysun. www.thenancysun.com

PERRY YOUNG

Raúl Rivera

PERRY YOUNG (Raúl Rivera) is so excited to be making his Arena Stage debut! Previous work includes Usnavi - In The Heights (National Tour); Slim - Once Upon A Rhyme (TheatreWorks); Bernardo - West Side Story; and Lethal Weapon (TV Series). Perry won the Broadway World Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for In The Heights and was also recently part of the ABC Discovers Diversity Showcase in New York City. He has also worked extensively with Rafael Casal (Blindspotting) and Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) on the #Bars Hip-Hop Workshop produced by the Public Theatre. A California native, Perry now splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City. Thanks to my family, for everything. Instagram:@perryyoungthang

ELAN ZAFIR

Boris Pronsky

ELAN ZAFIR (Boris Pronsky) is happy to be performing in Junk at Arena Stage. Regional credits include Folger’s King John and Way of the World; Ford’s Twelve Angry Men and Ragtime (Helen Hayes Award, Ensemble); Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Romeo & Juliet (also Free For All), Othello and Salomé (Helen Hayes Award, Ensemble); Mosaic’s Paper Dolls and Vagrant Trilogy; Signature’s Tender Napalm; The Welders’ Happiness and Other Reasons to Die; Adventure Theatre’s JUMANJI; Rep Stage’s Venus in Fur; and Capital Fringe’s The Unaccompanied Minor and Ben & Lucille. International credits include The Unaccompanied Minor at Edinburgh Fringe. TV and film credits include The Making of the Mob, King of Crimes and House of Cards.

Creative

AYAD AKHTAR

Playwright

JACKIE MAXWELL

Director

MISHA KACHMAN

Set Designer

JUDITH BOWDEN

Costume Designer

JASON LYONS

Lighting Designer

DARRON L WEST

Sound Designer

LEWIS SHAW

Fight Director

LISA NATHANS

Dialect and Vocal Coach

CHRISTI B. SPANN

Stage Manager

RACHAEL DANIELLE ALBERT

Assistant Stage Manager

AYAD AKHTAR

Playwright

is the author of Junk (Lincoln Center, Broadway; 2018 Kennedy Prize for American Drama); Disgraced (Lincoln Center, Broadway; Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony nomination); The Who & The What (Lincoln Center); and The Invisible Hand (Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award, Olivier and Evening Standard nominations). As a novelist, he is the author of American Dervish (Little, Brown & Co.) published in over 20 languages. Recipient of an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the 2017 Steinberg Playwriting Award, as well as fellowships from the American Academy in Rome, MacDowell, the Sundance Institute, and Yaddo, where he serves as a Board Director. Board Trustee at PEN/America and New York Theatre Workshop.

JACKIE MAXWELL

Director

previously directed Arena Stage’s Watch on The Rhine and Good People. Most recently, Jackie directed the Canadian Premiere of The Humans for the Citadel Theatre/Canadian Stage and Innocence Lost for Soulpepper Theatre. In 2016, she finished a 15-year tenure as Artistic Director of The Shaw Festival. Some favorite productions directed there include Uncle Vanya, Sweeney Todd, The Divine (world premiere), Come Back Little Sheba, Major Barbara, Ragtime and Saint Joan. Jackie has worked extensively throughout Canada and in the U.S. and was Artistic Director of Toronto’s Factory Theatre for eight years. She has received many awards including two Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Directing, two Honorary Degrees and the Order of Ontario. Upcoming projects include a new adaptation of Paradise Lost for the Stratford Festival.

MISHA KACHMAN

Set Designer

MISHA KACHMAN (Set Designer)’s previous designs at Arena include Kleptocracy, Two Trains Running, Smart People and The Originalist. He has also worked at Asolo Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Court Theatre, Filarmónica de Jalisco, The Kennedy Center, Olney Theatre, Opera Royal Versailles, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Round House Theatre, Seattle Rep, Signature Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Wilma Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, among many other theaters in the United States and abroad. Misha is a recipient of The Helen Hayes Award and a company member at Woolly. He is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy and serves as associate professor and head of MFA in Design at University of Maryland. For more information visit www.mishakachman.com.

JUDITH BOWDEN

Costume Designer

JUDITH BOWDEN (Costume Designer) has been designing for the theatre for the past 25 years. She has designed costumes for Arena Stage productions of Watch on the Rhine, My Fair Lady and TheMusic Man. Recent set and costume design credits include: London Road and The Other Place (Canadian Stage); Chimerica (Manitoba Theatre Centre and Canadian Stage); The Humans (The Citadel and Canadian Stage); Grand Hotel, St Joan, Sweeney Todd and Peter and the Starcatcher (Shaw Festival, where she has designed for the past 17 seasons); Paradise Lost and The Changeling (The Stratford Festival). Recent costume design credits include: Sense and Sensibility, Christmas Carol (Manitoba Theatre Centre); Cabaret (Shaw Festival). Her work has been seen at The National Arts Centre, Theatre Calgary and Paciﬁc Opera Victoria. Her costume design work was part of the exhibit at the Bakhrushin Central Stage Theatre Museum - Costume at the turn of the Century 1990 to 2015.

JASON LYONS

Lighting Designer

JASON LYONS (Lighting Designer) Arena: Born For This. Other D.C. credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Crazy For You, La Cage aux Folles, West Side Story, GirlStar and Cabaret at Signature Theatre. Jason has designed the Broadway productions of Hand to God, On the Town, Bronx Bombers, Let It Be, Bring It On: The Musical, Rock of Ages, The Threepenny Opera, Barefoot in the Park and Good Vibrations. Other recent credits include Clueless The Musical (The New Group); Kings (The Public Theater); Sugar In Our Wounds, Linda, Important Hats of the 20th Century, The Commons of Pensacola (Manhattan Theatre Club); Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion (5th Ave); Familiar, Robin Hood, Red Velvet, Macbeth and Love Labors Lost (The Old Globe). www.jasonlyonsdesign.com

DARRON L WEST

Sound Designer

DARRON L WEST (Sound Designer) Arena Stage credits include Healing Wars, The Velocity of Autumn, Intimations For Saxophone, Anna In The Tropics and Crowns. He is a Tony and OBIE Award-winning sound designer whose work for dance and theater has been heard in over 600 productions all over the United States and internationally in 14 countries. His additional accolades include the Drama Desk, Lortel, Audelco and Princess Grace Foundation Statue Awards.

LEWIS SHAW

Fight Director

LEWIS SHAW (Fight Director)’s Arena Stage credits include Kleptocracy, Snow Child, Sovereignty and A Raisin in the Sun. Everyman Theatre credits include Sweat, Noises Off, The Beaux Strategem, Fences, Ruined and Great Expectations. Center Stage credits include A Skull in Connamarra, Bus Stop, Snow Falling on Cedars and Looking Glass Alice. Regional credits include Washington Opera’s Don Giovanni. Shaw is a certified teacher with The Society of American Fight Directors and is the owner of Lewis Shaw Fine Dueling Supplies. His stage weapons have been seen in numerous Broadway plays, operas, films and television shows including Head Over Heels, Marvel's Daredevil, Marvel's Iron Fist, Aida and The Scarlet Pimpernel.

CHRISTI B. SPANN (Stage Manager) returns to Arena Stage for her sixth season. Christi spent twelve seasons on the stage management staff at the Denver Center Theatre Company and has also worked with The Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN; Virginia Repertory Theatre in Richmond, VA; and the Shakespeare Theatre Company here in D.C.

RACHAEL DANIELLE ALBERT

Assistant Stage Manager

RACHAEL DANIELLE ALBERT (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled return to Arena Stage. Credits Include: Native Gardens, A Raisin in the Sun, Watch on the Rhine, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End and The City of Conversation. Regional credits include: She A Gem and Bright Star (Kennedy Center); Botticelli in the Fire (Woolly Mammoth); The Wolves (Studio Theater); Seize the King, Up Here, Ether Dome and Peer Gynt (La Jolla Playhouse); Rich Girl (The Old Globe); Sylvia and Souvenir (New London Barn Playhouse); and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Stage 773). New York credits include: The Roads to Home (Primary Stages); Maize & Blue on Broadway; The Last Word (NYMF). Founding member: Ubuntu Theater Project (Oakland, CA). MFA: University of California, San Diego. BFA: University of Michigan. Proud AEA member.